Higher Education

Our role

The role of the Higher Education office at St Edmund's is to support and advise our Sixth Form pupils in their choice of university or further learning institution, and through the application process itself.

Whilst most of the work of the Higher Education office centres on the Upper Sixth year, we ensure that pupils in the Lower Sixth are also starting to focus on their future choice of university and course, with advice on the selection of which AS levels to continue to A2. Time is taken to visit the Connexions Higher Education Fair which takes place at the neighbouring University of Kent campus; Lower Sixth pupils may also attend open days during the summer term, and guest speakers will cover topics such as university life and gap years.

Typically, Upper Sixth Form pupils will complete their UCAS forms at the start of the academic year, supported by our Higher Education and careers advisers, and our extensive prospectus library; individual tutors and subject teachers will also offer support as desired. Once the applications have been made, assistance is given with interviews and with the selection of the most appropriate offer which might include deferred entry post A level. Advice is given in cases where pupils wish to apply for financial assistance for their chosen courses.

University entrance

St Edmund’s pupils have regularly gained places at top institutions: over the last three years four of our pupils have gone on to Oxford, including two to read Music, and two to Cambridge. This year, two more Sixth Formers have been offered places – one in Philosophy and Psychology at Oxford and the other in Mathematics at Cambridge. In addition to these traditional benchmarks of success, we have seen five more achieve places at Durham, and – over the last five years - no less than 37 to the University of London, including ten each to University College London and King’s, and a superb thirteen to Imperial College. This reflects the school’s strength in Science and its success in recruiting top flight international students in Mathematics and the Sciences. In the last two years, two more have gained places at St Andrew’s in Scotland for English Literature – a fine achievement for the school. It is also rewarding to receive feedback from universities for the quality of school references under the Headmaster’s aegis. Both universities and parents provide information about the progress at university with many of our leavers who do well on competitive courses, including at newer universities. One pupil who had begun on a foundation course at Oxford Brookes has established himself on an Engineering degree course at this most popular newer institution (post-1992).

Equally worth celebrating in a competitive age are our successes across a range of universities over the last few years: pupils have gone on to a variety of courses in the Arts, including one to Liverpool Institute for the Performing Arts, the new Arts university in Liverpool founded by Sir Paul McCartney, as well as notable successes in Business and teaching courses. We take a pride in matching every pupil to their chosen course and have over 95% achieving their first or second choice institution.

More specifically, in 2007, four Sixth Formers achieved places on the Business course at Bath and in 2008 we celebrated two musicians gaining places at The Royal Academy, one of whom gained four scholarships at each conservatoire he applied to. We also had seven placements at Britain’s newest university, the University for the Arts in Canterbury. In addition, in 2008, our two medical successes received seven offers between them out of 8 – a stunning statistic in this most competitive of subjects.

2009 is set to be equally successful and each pupil, whether deferring entry till 2010, or applying for this September, is currently on course with many offers being achieved already.